TiVo’s custom wireless G USB adapter has arrived. As previously reported the adapter is compatible with Series 2 models and off-loads some of the network processing, by utilizing a “full MAC chipset,” resulting in improved throughput over, say, my Netgear WG111. The sexy little adapter retails for $49.99 direct from TiVo or less via Amazon. I’ll post photos with a TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing (MRV) performance comparison as soon as mine arrives.
More visual goodness after the jump…
DirecTV is joining TiVo and Dish as a competitor in the portable media market. Next week they’ll be announcing a new partnership, possibly with a hardware vendor and NBC, as part of this mobile content initiative. No word yet regarding which DTV models, current or yet-to-come, and portable devices will be covered. There’s strength in … Read more
ReplayTV is leaving the hardware business once all 5500 models have been sold. Additionally, D&M Holdings has ported ReplayTV software to the PC platform which will begin shipping next year bundled with Hauppauge tuner cards. ReplayTV intends to become solely a software and services company as first disclosed last summer with their intentions in the … Read more
Humax plans to sell 26″, 32″, and 40″ LCD televisions with built-in DVRs to American consumers. While similar models have been seen overseas, this is the first time the products will be available in the US. Unlike the reference model displayed at CES, Humax appears to be going it alone without TiVo software. No timeline … Read more
Why stop at audio podcasting when you can serve up video? TiVo will begin providing daily Rocketboom broadcast downloads on Monday. Networked Series 2 units are eligible to sign up via this web page or through a new Showcase which will appear on TiVo units tonight.
Even cooler, TiVo is soliciting volunteers to provide content (Engadget, are you listening?) for their “VideoBlog Project” here.
TiVo says: Rocketboom is currently one of the most popular videoblogs on the internet with more daily subscribers for original syndicated multimedia content than nearly any other site, including podcasts. Now, Rocketboom is available on TiVo as part of the TiVo Video Download Trial.
Think those beta pics look slick? If so, register your Series 2 TiVo on the priority list to get Yahoo!, Fandango, Live365, and Podcaster features first! FYI TiVo issued a press release and spoke to USA Today about the new functionality. Additionally, they describe the services here. I’m betting they’re going to sell a lot … Read more
As previously reported, TiVo is beefing up their HME offerings by centrally hosting applications and partnering with Yahoo! Yahoo! weather, traffic, and photos are available by entering your account info on the TiVo box. Also being previewed are Internet radio (Live365), the podcaster application I saw at Digital Life, Fandango movie tickets, and some various games. Beta testing is scheduled to continue into early 2006.
TiVo’s really starting to hit their stride in adding value over the typical cable-co DVR. Once they bundle these features with the upcoming dual HD tuner CableCARD model, they’ll really have something worth drooling over.
TiVo’s got another patent in the pipeline this month. This new patent application describes the use of Closed Captioning meta-data as a means of communicating with the TiVo unit. For example, if the tag embedded in a regular Coke commercial appears during broadcast TV and I’ve opted-in to TiVo’s ad search, my box can replace … Read more